It's a Joke, Son!

Kenny Delmar stars as Senator Beauregard Claghorn, a bombastic Southerner who sounds an awful lot like Foghorn Leghorn. As another reviewer pointed out, Claghorn had some funny lines in the film, such as his desire to rename North Carolina or change the United States to "The South" or complaining because he was served BOSTON baked beans!

As for the rest of the film, it's a likable little comedy with modest pretenses. The plot involves Claghorn initially announcing his retirement. As a result, Mrs. Claghorn decides to run as well as another candidate. Beauregard wants this other candidate to win, but eventually realizes the guy is a jerk. So, now Beauregard throws his hat into the ring as well. But, mobsters working for this other candidate decide to use a bit of chicanery themselves and kidnap Beauregard to prevent him from running! Will our hero escape? And who will win this now hotly contested election? Overall, it's a decent little time-passer. It has a few laughs here and there and is a pleasant little film. Nothing great, but certainly worth a look.

This is the story of how popular "(Fred) Allen's Alley" radio-show regular Kenny Delmar (as Beauregard Claghorn) won his political title. He is describes as, "a large body of a man entirely surrounded by mint juleps, magnolia blossoms and Southern tradition. So strong is his faith in the old, old South that he is perhaps the only man in all the world who is still buying Confederate Army Victory Bonds. He knows the South did NOT lose the Civil War - it was called on account of darkness." In this film, the character is placed in a sit-com format, where he delivers blustery pro-Southern statements...

While Mr. Delmar regrets a grocer's selling of Northern apples (calling them "foreign"), his wife Una Merkel (as Magnolia) prepares for a meeting of her "Daughters of Dixie" women's group. Helping decorate their living room (with a sign) is pretty daughter June Lockhart (as Mary Lou), who dates frozen foods salesman Kenneth Farrell (well-named, as Jefferson "Jeff" Davis"). Ms. Merkel is nominated to run for state Senator. Her opponent maneuvers Delmar to enter the race as a third-party candidate, to split the opposition and win. Merkel must do the right thing, but there is another obstacle...

**** It's a Joke, Son! (1/15/47) Benjamin Stoloff ~ Kenny Delmar, Una Merkel, June Lockhart, Kenneth Farrell

Kenny Delmar who was both announcer on the Fred Allen Radio Show and a character on his Allen's Alley segment takes said character Senator Beauregard Claghorn and stars in this initial film for Eagle-Lion Pictures. The title It's A Joke Son came from the catchphrase that identified him with so many radio listeners.

The sad thing today is that unless one is a student of our popular culture or in a generation before mine, the name of Senator Claghorn would not be recognized by too many contemporary viewers. Eagle-Lion in making this first admittedly B picture had a built in audience of Fred Allen's radio listeners. That is entirely lost on today's movie audience who watched this on YouTube as I did.

Senator Claghorn was a caricature of the flannel mouth politicians who got themselves elected to office in the former Confederate states by proudly proclaiming their Dixie heritage and little else. Done ever so gently for the radio listeners lest the ones in the south stop listening.

Those in the radio audiences still might have asked how did someone like Beauregard Claghorn ever get elected. The answer is provided by this film and it's that he beat a bigger boob. This boob is Jimmy Conlin and he's backed by some carpetbagging Yankee political boss in the person of Douglass Dumbrille.

When we meet Claghorn he's not a Senator yet, he's a rather henpecked husband of Una Merkel. When at a meeting of her Daughters Of Dixie club where the punch has been liberally spiked, Merkel is urged to run as a reform candidate.

For reasons I won't go into Delmar then throws his hat in the ring and the fun begins.

It's a B film with productions values of same so don't expect much. But also it's terribly dated with jokes that no audience of young people could possibly get. It's a film for folks like me.

Una Merkel was a fixture in early hollywood... here, she is Magnolia, wife of southern gentleman Beau Claghorn, the big, blustery windbag. Doug Dumbrille ALWAYS played the bad guy. June Lockhart is here as the daughter... she was best known as the mom in Lost in Space, and of course, the "Lassie" films and television series. Lots of "southerner" jokes... the south versus the durn yankees. and Ken Farrell is "Jeff Davis", for the obvious name reference. When Magnolia runs for senate, her husband Beauregard is also forced to run for senate, for reasons explained in the film. It's all good fun, with some serious ideas thrown in along the way. Then Claghorn disappears...will he return in time for the election ? Directed by Ben Stoloff, who was known for westerns and musicals. produced by Eagle Lion Films, owned by Arthur Rank. It's quite good! Showing on Moonlight Movie channel... i've never seen this one on Turner Classics. Catch it if you can!

Senator Beauregard Clanghorn is the real-life fictional character from whom Mel Blanc created the barnyard politician Foghorn Leghorn.

If you don't laugh at this movie and the outrageous humor of Beauregard Clanghorn, then you're either dead and don't know it; or you're taking life way too seriously--and isn't that the point of the whole movie?

Someone said that the movie may not be "politically correct." Well, to heck with "political correctness"! That's just a bunch of plastic people imposing plastic rules for a plastic world.

There's nothing plastic about "It's a Joke, Son!" or Beauregard Clanghorn--and there's nothing plastic about uproariously funny comedy. Good comedy is neither politically correct nor incorrect. It is just something that makes you laugh when you need it.

Whoever said, "Laughter is the best medicine," certainly knew what he was talking about; and "It's a Joke, Son!" is GOOD medicine--even in the 21st Century! You ca--I say, you can bank on that!